By Shruti Sharma
New Delhi: On February 16, the Supreme Court dismissed a petition that challenged an October 2025 ruling of the Chhattisgarh high court. The ruling had stated that billboards banning the entry of priests and “converted Christians” in eight villages of Kanker district of the state were “not unconstitutional.”
In mid-June 2025, posters and hoardings were put up in various tribal regions of Kanker district, Chhattisgarh, prohibiting the entry of Christian priests and “converted Christians”.
According to the petition submitted to the high court, Gram Sabha meetings took place in Kudal village on June 25, 2025, and in Parvi village on June 26, 2025. It was claimed in the petition that resolutions were passed to prohibit the entry of Christian priests into the villages after the meetings.
Starting from the second week of August 2025, large boards and hoardings began to be put up in several villages in Kanker district. These posters stated that the villages in question fall under the Fifth Schedule and, therefore, under the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA), and so the Gram Sabhas of these villages have the right to safeguard their culture, traditions, and identity. In light of this, the posters proclaimed that Christian priests and “converted tribal Christians” were barred from entering the villages.
Interestingly, no copy of the resolution referencing this hasty action is available in the district panchayat records.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.